Elizabeth Connolly became the Department’s Acting Commissioner on February 28, 2015. She has worked in various roles at the department for 26 years, most recently as Chief of Staff. She began her career in the department’s Division of Family Development and worked in child welfare reform as Director of Data Analysis and Reporting in the Office of Children’s Services. Ms. Connolly also served as Director of Research and Evaluation, Special Assistant to the Commissioner and led the department’s Sandy recovery initiatives and emergency preparedness activities related to Ebola Virus Disease. She lives in North Brunswick and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and Masters in Public Administration from Seton Hall University.

DHS has the largest budget in state government, with over 15,000 employees - approximately 75-percent of them serving as direct care workers in the state-run developmental centers and psychiatric hospitals. About one in six New Jersey residents is impacted by the work of DHS.

The Department works in partnership with the Administration on initiatives including: Medicaid reform; advancing supported placement of individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illness in the community; creating employment opportunities for people with disabilities; and sustaining the safety-net of services made available for the state's older population, and individuals and families with low income.